This is my 1st post of many! I'll be covering mostly the world of Mixed Martial Arts, obviously with a emphasis on the UFC but also other aspects such as smaller shows, Canadian MMA and anything else related.
Last night marked the long-awaited rematch between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and reigning 205-pound champ Chuck "the Iceman" Liddell. But before the main event got underway, there were a number of other fights that did not disappoint. First off was Canadian Kalib Starnes taking a decision win over Chris Leben. While I was hoping for Starnes to take the victory, the judge's decision was definitely controversial, with the Canadian himself saying after the fight that he felt it should have gone to "The Crippler." It was an exciting fight nonetheless. The fight between Karo Parysian and Josh Burkman had the potential for fireworks and was definitely a great fight. Both fighters fought hard but Karo showed why he's been talking about a title shot all week. I'm looking forward to see who the UFC matched Karo with in the future, since it seems just about every time he goes out there it's an exciting fight.
But on to the continuing story of MMA of 2007: The Upset. First it was Dan Henderson over Wanderlei in Pride, and then Matt Serra, Gabe Gonzaga and arguably Randy Couture taking huge upset wins in the UFC. UFC 71 was no different. First, relative unknown Houston Alexander was making his UFC debut against Keith Jardine who is one serious fighter. No one gave Alexander a chance but he came out and proved everyone wrong with a huge knockout. This guy is nuts on his feet but apparently has no ground game. If he can get some wrestling skills and work on his jiu jitsu he could be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
And now the main event of the evening. There were lots of people on both sides of who they wanted to win this fight. But it seemed most people I talked to that wanted Rampage to win, still thought Chuck would be too much. I personally thought chuck would win by knockout within the first three rounds. I figured it would be a battle until Chuck caught Rampage with one of his patented right hands. Well Rampage sure proved to a lot of people the fight in 2003 was no fluke. Chuck made a mistake going to the body and with his hands dropped, Jackson took advantage. Although many could say this was not really an upset, I still think Chuck was the favourite going in. Now I'm looking forward to the Rampage/Henderson fight and hope that now we get to finally see a Chuck/Wanderlei battle that's been talked about for years now. Only time will tell.
Last night marked the long-awaited rematch between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and reigning 205-pound champ Chuck "the Iceman" Liddell. But before the main event got underway, there were a number of other fights that did not disappoint. First off was Canadian Kalib Starnes taking a decision win over Chris Leben. While I was hoping for Starnes to take the victory, the judge's decision was definitely controversial, with the Canadian himself saying after the fight that he felt it should have gone to "The Crippler." It was an exciting fight nonetheless. The fight between Karo Parysian and Josh Burkman had the potential for fireworks and was definitely a great fight. Both fighters fought hard but Karo showed why he's been talking about a title shot all week. I'm looking forward to see who the UFC matched Karo with in the future, since it seems just about every time he goes out there it's an exciting fight.
But on to the continuing story of MMA of 2007: The Upset. First it was Dan Henderson over Wanderlei in Pride, and then Matt Serra, Gabe Gonzaga and arguably Randy Couture taking huge upset wins in the UFC. UFC 71 was no different. First, relative unknown Houston Alexander was making his UFC debut against Keith Jardine who is one serious fighter. No one gave Alexander a chance but he came out and proved everyone wrong with a huge knockout. This guy is nuts on his feet but apparently has no ground game. If he can get some wrestling skills and work on his jiu jitsu he could be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
And now the main event of the evening. There were lots of people on both sides of who they wanted to win this fight. But it seemed most people I talked to that wanted Rampage to win, still thought Chuck would be too much. I personally thought chuck would win by knockout within the first three rounds. I figured it would be a battle until Chuck caught Rampage with one of his patented right hands. Well Rampage sure proved to a lot of people the fight in 2003 was no fluke. Chuck made a mistake going to the body and with his hands dropped, Jackson took advantage. Although many could say this was not really an upset, I still think Chuck was the favourite going in. Now I'm looking forward to the Rampage/Henderson fight and hope that now we get to finally see a Chuck/Wanderlei battle that's been talked about for years now. Only time will tell.
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